Soviet probe in orbit for 47 years may crash into Earth THIS YEAR after failed Venus trip

Kosmos 482 is “highly likely” to survive re-entry in one piece as it was built to be hardy enough to withstand Venus’s dense atmosphere.

The Russian technology – which weighs a whopping 500kg – has been circling in orbit around Earth ever since a disastrous launch on March 31, 1972 ruined the project and turned it into useless space debris.

Its eventual demise and return to the surface of our planet has been expected for a long time but previous estimates placed the landing between 2023 and 2025.